Similar items over time

Silk shirt, which is part of a wedding ensemble from the Struge region in Albania. Part of a young Muslim Albanian woman's trousseau during the early 20th century. It was woven on a large silk weaving loom. She was betrothed to be married but her fiancé died in tragic circumstances and the wedding did not proceed. The young woman never married and the costume remained unworn until it was given by her family to Erik Lloga, a friend of the family, who migrated to Australia from Albania in 1969. The family were keen for him to 'save' the costume and the cultural traditions it represented, at a time when such traditions were under threat of survival in many eastern bloc states.